Monzanator

13 runners left in GS 2nd run and we have a brief wind delay in Naeba. But we're back underway!

What's the incubation period of this virus anyway? It's easy for it to go undetected if the test is conducted too early?

Nope. This is her first WC win as a married woman

Well, it's an agricultural country ranked outside Top 140 in GDP per capita. Oligarchs have nothing to prey on there. Actually they import more goods from China than Russia.

Obviously Russians go to Belarus and just about anyone from the former Soviet Union goes to Russia. It's an inter-USSR immigration market. Kazakhstan has access to oil from beneath the Caspian Sea so it's doing incredibly well economically for a Central Asia country. Uzbekistan is the biggest cotton exporter in the world right now. Sadly the Aral Sea has been drained and shrinked as a result since the cotton fields are taking water directly from it. It's a state policy and nobody cares about it. I suppose Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan provide some immigration to these countries. They are probably the two poorest ex-USSR republics right now.

According to this: Russians, Belarussians, Kazakhs & Uzbeks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Ukraine The Ukrainian immigration to Poland has snowballed in the last decade. War in Donbas only poured fuel into the fire. Hell, even the left-wing pro-Labour 'The Guardian' has noticed this last year: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/18/whole-generation-has-gone-ukrainian-seek-better-life-poland-elect-president

Right, just so everyone thinks Poland is the outdated and conservative country which dislikes immigrants. The Economist states we've accepted more immigrants in the last two years than any other country in Europe (2m from Ukraine,36k from Nepal, 20k from India and 18k from Bangladesh). So much for us looking like xenophobic pricks. https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/02/22/poland-is-cocking-up-migration-in-a-very-european-way Obviously Ukrainians are our version of cheap labour, just like Poles are in Germany, Netherlands or pre-Brexit UK

Torn ACL in left knee. Season over. https://www.nachrichten.at/sport/wintersport/ski-alpin/reisinger-zog-sich-bei-schwerem-sturz-kreuzbandriss-zu;art73891,3230005

Don't think IBU will ever enforce which athlete is eligible to enter what event. What sport prevents its biggest stars in competing what events they like? I can only think of tennis where a Top 10 ranked player can only play two International-level tournaments per season.

The UEFA Euro hosted in multiple cities will be a one-off. Several countries dislike that idea. It was Michel Platini's brainchild and he's lost all credibility now. Soccer is popular enough to sustain future Euros in one or two countries instead of 16 cities. IBU is obviously independent to FIS so they can call their own shots and the ex-USSR market is being explored again. Estonia, Belarus and Latvia have build biathlon venues. Not to mention Poland has invested in Duszniki too. There are actually more venues being build all over Europe now so I see no chance the number goes down. Kontiolathi might fall off the calendar once Makarainen retires but that is all IMO.

IOC is clearly focused on milking money from the Asian market right now. Back-to-back WOG in Korea & China? That's no coincidence. They're trying to make winter sports work in China - the Secret Garden and that other venue which name escapes me. Let's make no mistake, IOC wants to cash in on all that money available from the Asian economic powerhouses. Hell, if there was snow in Qatar, Doha would be hosting the WOG too Winter sports have been traditionally successful in selected group of countries. Half of the world is excluded from taking part in WOG by default due to lack of snow. IOC can sell break dance for summer games but winter? They have to appease the traditional winter countries because there is no replacement for them. Africa ain't gonna take the WOG by storm. Hell, IAAF hasn't managed to host the senior World Champs in Africa yet despite this being a natural stronghold for athletics ever since the colonial era ended.

You've offended me enough with the "Poles are racist pricks" comment. Stop playing the victim/political card. You've ruined this thread enough already.

Stop feeding this troll. He will blow up this thread and leave nothing but ashes

I absolutely can't read this guy anymore. He's ruined this thread like no other. I'm done with him

Gender equality is used in political campaigns all over the world. Who are you kidding here? We're not a bunch of 10 years olds to buy this as a sport-only question. I see you believe politicians don't have enough power in this world already. George Orwell would be proud of the political control you're trying to enforce in this thread

Speaking of Wolverhampton - again - they just trashed Espanyol 4-0 in the first leg of Last 32! Talk about a major turnaround, they were stuck in the Championship for years during my childhood and then perenially battled relegation under Mick McCarthy in the EPL. Look at them now! Who says Chinese money is bad for business?

Thankfully politicians won't make these decisions. It's enough power of them if they control law making, finances and trade market all over the world already. Sport should be free of this political bickering. You should post this in the Politics Thread under science-fiction tag and leave the Biathlon Thread to well... biathlon!

You'd need to split the tournament into group stage because when everyone plays everyone it's impossible to have more quotas. 11 matches before the medal round is more than enough, hell there was enough controversy with Asia becoming a force when a world class team like Japan didn't qualify for the Worlds once (when they won silver medal in the previous edition IIRC) so Europe had to lose one spot in order to fit the Asian market. @dcro is spot on with his take. Big teams will eventually continue to dominate the smaller nations regardless of the intentions.

Polish TV broadcasts the endurace races so there are enough snowy landscapes there too. It's obvious Tour de Ski has lost its juice so FIS had to come up with a new Tour located in Norway because it's the only country where people actually follow cc these days. I haven't watched a single World Cup race since the 2019 Nordic WCh and it seems like the next time I'm gonna watch one will be the 2021 Nordic WCh

Shooting also matters in the individual - even more so than single mixed relay - and you're not a fan of that format so I don't get your logic at all

Yeah, the classic relay at least forces nations to have some depth on the team. Single mixed relay means shit. It's male & female alpha where one penalty loop kills your chances. In classic relays teams have won it with multiple penalty loops before.

She doesn't get the coverage Lindsey Vonn had tbh. I bet Chloe Kim is more popular in the USA than Shiffrin right now. Then again, XFL games get more viewers than alpine skiing. Nobody's watching alpine skiing in the USA if Shiffrin is not at start IMO.

In a season without World Champs or Olympics? Then she could have skipped the entire season alltogether

IOC runs the show though. Biathlon already has 11 events spread across 14 days. They doubled teamed individuals and pursuit on the same day already. Unlike cross country or alpine skiing the best athletes do not skip some events on purpose here. And who's gonna field a B line-up for an Olympic event now to hope for a better shot in the individual races?

Winning the overall World Cup is still pretty important?